Following the approval of the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQUIP) on March 31st, 2020, some statements and discussions are going around and sometimes creating confusion to the public about the project.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, being the custodian of all matters related to education in the country, wishes to make some clarification to all stakeholders and the public to clear the confusion.
SEQUIP is worth US$ 500 million and has been financed by the World Bank to improve access and quality of secondary education in the country.
The target is to reach more than 6.5 million secondary school students across the country, without discrimination and shall include girls who drop out of school for various reasons, including pregnancy. The Government is committed to ensure that they continue with their education as prescribed in the project.
We also want to make it clear that children who pass the national examinations will be provided with the same opportunity to continue with their education in public schools, colleges and universities, regardless of education institutions they attended.
Finally, we wish to assure the general public and our partners that the Government remains fully committed to seriously implement the SEQUIP project according to the project design and agreements made with the World Bank.
We are cognizant that the program design is performance based and its successful implementation hinges on achievements of the agreed milestones.
We reiterate our position that stakeholders will always be formally engaged at various stages and continuously be informed on the implementation progress as per the agreed plan of action. We also remain committed to provide inclusive and safe education for all students in Tanzania.
On behalf of the Government we once again extend our deep appreciation to the World Bank for their support in this project which will give a lot of impetus to the welfare of our girls and boys in their education progression.
Prof. Joyce L. Ndalichako (MP), MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
